[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5523]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO COLONEL ROBERT F. NORTON, USA, RETIRED

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I wish to honor COL Robert 
F. Norton, USA, Retired, on the occasion of his retirement as deputy 
director of government relations for the Military Officers Association 
of America, MOAA.
  After serving in the Army Reserve for several years while he worked 
as a schoolteacher, Colonel Norton volunteered for full-time Active 
Duty with the Army in 1978. He served in various assignments on the 
Army headquarters staff and the office of the Secretary of the Army, 
specializing in Reserve manpower and personnel policy matters. He 
served two tours in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense 
for Reserve Affairs, first as a personnel policy officer and then as 
senior military assistant to the Assistant Secretary.
  Colonel Norton retired from the Army in 1995. His military awards 
include the Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze 
Star, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal. He is 
a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Army 
War College, and the Kennedy School of Government senior officials in 
national security course at Harvard University.
  After his retirement, Colonel Norton continued his service as a 
defense contractor for 2 years, including time in Bosnia and other 
locations, but he found his true calling when he joined MOAA's 
government relations staff in 1997, specializing in National Guard, 
Reserve, and veterans benefits issues.
  In his nearly 19 years with MOAA, Colonel Norton testified before 
Congress more than 30 times and played a major role in a wide array of 
legislative accomplishments. Foremost among these was the post-9/11 GI 
Bill, where Colonel Norton's efforts played a pivotal role in ensuring 
this legislation included provisions for the Guard and Reserve, as well 
as transferability of benefits to family members.
  Colonel Norton also played a key role in winning legislation 
extending military health coverage to members of the Guard and Reserve 
and their families and authorizing early retirement credit for Guard 
and Reserve members called up for combat zone service.
  Colonel Norton's 38 years of service to our country and to those who 
serve and have served in uniform, as well as their families and 
survivors, is in keeping with the highest standards of excellence and 
is worthy of special recognition as he and his spouse, Colleen, embark 
on the next phase of their lives.

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